When Amy Cade’s family found out she had starred in porn films, she made a joke. “Well, after my sister came out as a lesbian, what else was there for me to do, still to be the rebellious one?” The 29-year-old laughs as she tells me this now: “It didn’t go down very well.”

On the surface, Amy and her 28-year-old sister Rosana appear polar opposites. Amy is loud and overtly sexy, with thick blonde hair, tattoos and a filthy laugh. Rosana is quieter, thoughtful, gamine. Amy has been a stripper, a porn star and is now a sex worker. Rosana is a performance artist and a lesbian who only enjoys sex when there’s “a strong emotional connection”.

The two are close, though, talking over each other and bickering as siblings do. They’re also fervent feminists. And together, they have created Sister, which opens at Soho Theatre next week, a show about gender, sexuality and family, which merges the world of the strip club and the theatre — “bringing both of our performative worlds into one space”. Oh, and they spend a lot of it nude.

“Everyone’s so scared of a naked body,” says Rosana. “They think you can only be naked and sexual. People who come to the show say our being naked so much has the effect of normalising it. It’s celebratory.”

Bold performance: Sister at the Soho theatre

In the show, they hug each other naked — as they do in real life. Amy laughs that some people find this strange: “It’s only weird if you make it weird.” Their naked bodies are intended to show both genetics — their physical similarities — and their different choices: the tattoos, hair and piercings super-imposed.

The pair chose to make a show together after appearing in Nic Green’s work Trilogy, which featured women dancing naked. “Both of us felt how lucky we were to feel good about our bodies,” Amy recalls. “So many women have huge insecurities. Our parents were always encouraging us to be comfortable in our skin. Being naked was a normal, natural thing in our house.”

The idea for Sister was solidified when, while nursing their dying grandmother, they spent the first summer together as adults, and began talking about gender politics. “We are sisters and we are so far apart from each other. But both of us [partyare very happy in understanding our sexual lives.” Their hope is that the play will make the audience understand how different experiences of sexuality can be.

‘I felt that being sexually attractive to men was one of the most desirable things to be, and gave you more social status’

The pair grew up in Tring, Hertforshire. As a teenager, Rosana had dreams about female teachers but didn’t realise she was attracted to women and so slept with “a lot” of men. “With a complete confusion about who I was, and trying to fit in, and maybe because Amy was very sexual and I really looked up to her — I wanted to be like that too.”

That resulted in “quite a lot of horrible sexual experiences: I was consenting but I never enjoyed it. I felt that being sexually attractive to men was one of the most desirable things to be, and gave you more social status. That’s horrible. I thought there was something wrong with me that I couldn’t enjoy sex.”

After she left home, Rosana began a relationship with a woman and started to identify as a lesbian. Her outward appearance changed: she shaved her head and stopped removing her body hair. She had first shaved her legs because she was bullied by boys at school who pulled her leg hair; now she feels she’s “subverting these pressures to live up to a stereotypical idea of femininity”.

Amy has taken a very different path. After university at Goldsmiths, she tried lap-dancing (calling herself “Rosana”). “I wanted to know what it was like to strip. My fantasies were about being a sexual object, being chosen to perform sexually.” She enjoyed the dancing “but not the chatting and the hard sell”. Later, she became fascinated by porn: “I was going to these feminist lectures and I felt like so much of this discourse wasn’t coming from women who work in these worlds. From wanting to find their stories, I wanted to find out what it’s like to work in porn — to use my body.”

She says she wouldn’t watch the porn she made. “I got off on the fact that I’m the star, and I got to live out a lot of my sexual fantasies. It was thrilling to do, but I think my imagination is better than most mainstream porn out there. We’ve seen the handyman!”

Amy thinks one reason porn is assumed to be degrading to women is the entrenched view that women can only enjoy sex with commitment. “Watching a woman surrounded by five guys, people think ‘poor woman’ but if you’re heterosexual, in a safe situation, and you like penises, actually that’s good. Society still thinks women enjoy having sex in relationships or they’re really insecure and they’re sluts.” Amy says she has always been turned on more by situations, than people.

After porn, she went to work as an escort in Berlin, where she lives now. “If the client’s doing something I enjoy sexually, I get off on it. If we’re not in sync, the worst is it’s boring, but it’s not about fulfilling my own sexual desires — I’m there to fulfil theirs.”

Most days, she enjoys the work. “I meet interesting people and it makes me happy to make that person happy. Most of the clients are not having the sex lives they want or need — whether it’s because they’re shy, sexually awkward or lazy. I’m lucky that outside my job I can fulfil my desires most of the time — these people can’t.” Amy says her sexuality is “much more akin to a gay man’s — or the possibilities that as a gay man they have to live their sexuality.”

50 best things to do in London in Autumn

50 best things to do in London in Autumn

1/25
FILM

Macbeth

Australia’s Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) offers a wrenching yet traditional take on The Scottish Play with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard electrifying as the power couple who forget that, when it comes to supernatural predictions, it’s best to read the small print.

Released Oct 2

Spectre

Bond is back and his foes just get better: Christoph Waltz as a self-styled “author” of pain — what’s not to like? Sam Mendes, after a bit of harrumphing, is still on board as director and has cast 50-year-old Monica Bellucci as a Bond girl. Hooray! We think.

Released Oct 26

2/25
FILM

Suffragette

Carey Mulligan plays a commoner caught up in the fight for women’s rights, inspired by fragrant movement leader Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) but also the kind of militants that today’s Right-wing tabloids would crucify. Helena Bonham Carter’s character is based on proud vandal and hunger striker Edith New.

Released Oct 12

Steve Jobs

Fassbender, again, in a biopic which, if the trailer is anything to go by, will tickle our ribs until we ache. Director Danny Boyle, like writer Aaron Sorkin, is an iconoclast. The pair’s portrait of the smart (some would say over-rated) Apple maestro might just be the next Citizen Kane.

Released Nov 13

3/25
FILM

The Lobster

A gorgeously left-field romantic thriller from Yorgos Lanthimos (the Greek genius behind Dogtooth and Alps). His first English-language drama (which won the Jury Prize at Cannes) is technically science-fiction; the film works because the non-married pariahs, David and Short Sighted Woman (Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz), are rooted in a galaxy that doesn’t feel at all far away.

Released Oct 16

Charlotte O'Sullivan

4/25
MUSIC

One Direction

The screams will be mixed with tears at the young hunks’ final London shows before they embark on a hiatus. That surely means umpteen solo albums to come, so it’s not all bad news for one of the most committed fanbases in pop.

After her short-notice Glastonbury headline slot, four nights in this great barn should be no problem for Florence, who has cemented her place as one of our most vital voices with a successful third album this year.

5/25
MUSIC

Apple Music Festival

Apple usually takes over the Roundhouse for the entire month of September, so it has shrunk its ambitions considerably this year. Seven shows are on the list so far including Take That, One Direction, Pharrell Williams and The Weeknd.

7/25
COMEDY

Sam Simmons

The newly-crowned Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award winner brings his lauded show Spaghetti for Breakfast to the capital. Brace yourselves for a whirlwind of jokes plus stories from Simmons’s difficult childhood.

Sept 22-Oct 10, Soho Theatre, W1

(020 7478 0100)

Dara O’Briain

Comedy’s fastest mind comes to the Apollo with the aptly titled Crowd Tickler — nobody is as skilled at getting their audiences laughing as this frighteningly intelligent Irishman.

The veteran comics embark on the London leg of their Legends trek. Expect the revival of favourite characters such as Enfield’s Loadsamoney and as much running around as their ancient bones can manage.

10/25
THEATRE

Farinelli and the King

The masterful Mark Rylance makes a welcome return to the West End in his wife Claire van Kampen’s drama about the opera-singing castrato.Sept 14-Dec 5, Duke of York’s, WC2 (0844 871 7623, Farinellitheplay.com)

Future Conditional

Matthew Warchus’s tenure as the new artistic director of the Old Vic starts with Tamsin Oglesby’s punchy look at British education, starring Rob Brydon.Until Oct 3, Old Vic, SE1 (0844 871 7628, oldvictheatre.com)

The glossy Kenneth Branagh Company starts its year-long residency in the West End with two plays in rep. Branagh himself lines up in both this rarely performed Rattigan and The Winter’s Tale, while Judi Dench joins him in the latter.

13/25
EXHIBITIONS

Ai Weiwei

China’s most famous artist’s activism is better known than his sculpture and installations but this retrospective should change all that.
Sept 19-Dec 13, Royal Academy, W1 (020 7300 8000, royalacademy.org.uk)

Goya: The Portraits
Few painters are as influential as the Spanish master, as the 70 portraits by him here, including acerbic depictions of Spanish royals, show us why.
Oct 7-Jan 10, National Gallery, WC2
(020 7747 2885, nationalgallery.org.uk)

15/25
TV

This Is England ’90
Shane Meadows’s series following characters over the cultural terrain of his West Midlands childhood returns. It’s 1990 now, so skinheads have given way to Manchester club culture as the ensemble cast (Joseph Gilgun, Vicky McClure, Thomas Turgoose, Michael Socha) enact an alternative history of the Margaret Thatcher era.
Channel 4, Sept 13
Doctor Who
Peter Capaldi returns with Jenna Coleman as glamorous assistant Clara. The action starts with a two-parter by Steven Moffat. The series welcomes Michelle Gomez back as Missy. The Daleks will be along presently.
BBC1, Sept 19
The Muppets
A mockumentary following Kermit and friends as they prepare for a return to TV. The series has been promoted with the announcement that Kermit and Miss Piggy have ended their 40-year relationship, which is news to those of us who thought the affair was all in Miss Piggy’s head.
Sky 1, October

16/25

The Affair

Series two of the Golden Globe-winning drama starring Ruth Wilson and Dominic West. Series one was a forensic examination of a self-destructive relationship between Wilson and West’s characters, with a murder thrown in. Series two promises to delve deeper, examining events from more viewpoints.
Sky Atlantic, October

London Spy

Five-part mini-series created by Child 44 author Tom Rob Smith. It stars Ben Whishaw as Danny, a gregarious romantic who blunders into the world of international espionage when he falls for anti-social Alex (Edward Holcroft), who works for the Secret Intelligence Service. The top-drawer cast includes Charlotte Rampling and Jim Broadbent.
BBC2, October
Alastair McKay

17/25
CLUBBING

Perfect Havoc Disco

Perfect Havoc Disco pulled the moves at Shapes in Hackney Wick over summer — to such success that it’s been invited to Hoxton Basement for a Halloween bash. The party kicks off on Friday and lasts all weekend — there’ll be turns from DJs including Cesare and Tobtok.

London’s campest carnival returns – and it’s celebrating a birthday, which means whips and nipple tassels at the ready. Tickets usually sell out as fast as Glasto so this year it’s first come, first serve — arrive at 9pm to get lucky.
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, 42-46 Pollard Row, E2, Sept 19, sinkthepink.co.uk

18/25
CLUBBING

Phonox

Brixton’s newest opening bills itself as a “community” nightclub: it’s free before 10pm (and for members until December), advance tickets are only £5, or it’s a reasonable £10 on the door. It’s presided over by resident DJ Jasper James on Fridays and a rolling guest of star guests (including Gilles Peterson and Julio Bashmore) on Saturdays.
418 Brixton Road, SW9, from now, phonox.co.uk
Phoebe Luckhurst

19/25
FASHION

Taking LibertiesLiberty celebrates 140 years in business from October 9. The installation brings together over 150 garments, textiles and objects as well as collaborations with the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood. Spanning orientalism, Art Deco and Art Nouveau this exhibition is certain to delight Liberty mega-fans.

Balmain for H&MThose dreaming of a dress collection like Kim Kardashian or ruffle-trim military jacket like Jourdan Dunn are already counting down until H&M unveils its latest designer collaboration with Oliver Rousteing. Set to bring a hit of his down-with-the-kids glamour — loved by Naomi Campbell and Kendall Jenner — to the masses. It will include thigh-high boots, trophy jackets & show-stopping military trims.

20/25
FASHION

Anya’s Service Station

Get your engine revved for the new season by taking a pit stop at Anya Hindmarch’s service station, which will be open from next Friday until Monday evening. Britain’s best loved bag-maker has taken over Selfridges car park with an all singing all dancing service station where you can buy a bag at the drive-through and dine at the Little Chef snack bar. It has to be seen to be believed.

21/25
FOOD

Street food residencies

Included in this autumn’s street food roster are fried-chicken maker Mother Clucker, now in the Cat & Mutton pub in Broadway Market and excellent waffle-server Waffle On, which will be hosting sweet waffle-based dinners at Bermondsey's Watchhouse cafe until the end of the year.motherclucker.co.uk, waffleon.net

Tim Anderson opens Nanban

The experimental Masterchef winner, cookbook author and inimitable Japanese chef is finally opening his debut restaurant at the end of the month. Situated on Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, there will be mash-ups of traditional Japanese dishes using ingredients bought from the market, such as curried goat tsukemen, plus more recognisable winners including his signature ramen.@nanbanlondon

22/25

Fortnum & Mason’s new restaurant

The iconic department store is closing its Fountain restaurant, which has been around since 1955, and replacing it with 45 Jermyn Street, which CEO Ewan Venters hopes will be a destination restaurant to suit everyone. The restaurant opens in October, and will have a modern European menu cooked by chef Lee Streeton, who has The Savoy and Brown’s Hotel on his CV.45jermynst.com Late-night pizza
Those wanting to know where to get their late-night munchies fix once the Night Tube opens can add Arabica to their list, because from September 12 the Middle Eastern restaurant near London Bridge station will serve Levantine-style pizzas and clay oven cooked bites from 10.30pm until midnight. The menu includes an Armenian-style lahmacun and a spinach and feta boregi.arabicabarandkitchen.com
Victoria Stewart

23/25
DANCE

#Hofest

A feast of dance and music by choreographer Hofesh Shechter, including an opera, a new show at Sadler’s Wells and the mighty Political Mother taking over Brixton Academy.

24/25
EVENTS

Wahaca Day of the Dead

Halloween, shmalloween — it’s all about the Day of the Dead. Latitude festival veterans Savages will be performing at Wahaca’s party, as will The Horrors and Crystal Fighters. There’ll be Mexican food and plenty tequila.

Remember October, when the skies are dark and the climes Baltic? You’ll remember soon enough when the cold encroaches so head for the Courthouse Hotel, which is dishing up spicy chicken sliders and warm cocktails all month on a pop-up terrace.

25/25
EVENTS

Open House London

London is full of amazing buildings — and most of the time you aren’t allowed anywhere near them. For a single weekend in autumn many throw open their doors, crypts and secret passages for nosy punters to explore. There are walking tours, too.

Feast at the heaving tables of the capital’s top restaurants, which are putting on special meals and deals during October. Real gastronomes will sign up for a tour — hopping from resto to resto for each course.

Even Rosana says she initially couldn’t comprehend how her sister could couple feminism with sex work, though. “I found it hard to place that in my own politics ... because I’m so against men objectifying women. But when I was struggling to understand Amy’s decisions I was picturing myself — you can never imagine someone else’s perspective, or how their body feels.”

Their younger brother found it even harder to understand. “That’s because he’s dealing with his issues with the sex industry, and society’s stigmatising of women who work in it,” argues Amy. “We’ve fallen out, then made friends again.” He hasn’t yet seen them perform but he’s planning to come to London. “This is the first time he’s in a position where he wants to see it.”

Rosana chips in: “He’s not this awful misogynist man but he’s grown up in a group of lads, and they’re trying to act this version of masculinity.”

Amy now works in a Kindergarten too, but she’s interested in doing sexual therapy work in the future. “As a sex worker, there’s a certain kind of therapy going on. I’ve had very intimate conversations with people I’d never meet in my day-to-day life.”

‘The sex industry is a service which should, like any job, have laws and support for the people who work within it’.

She argues that we’ll never eradicate sex work (“sex is a basic need”) and wants to be a voice “for the many sex workers who have to live these secret lives because they’re scared of the shame, and society’s view of them”.

She’d like a revolution in how we see sex work and is opposed to criminalisation of the clients: “The sex industry is a service which should, like any job, be protected and have laws and regulations, and support for the people who work within it. Even in Germany where it is legal, it is still stigmatised. It makes it easier for people to get away with the bad side of it.”

There’s a part in the show where the audience can ask questions. Many challenge Amy on her choices. “As an out sex worker, you’re treated as though you’re a voice for all sex workers. I’m not a sex slave and it’s not my place to speak for those people. I’m saying: ‘This is a positive experience, so those other things shouldn’t be able to happen’.”

“I hope Sister will inspire other people — especially women — to speak openly about their sexuality,” adds Amy. “To stop pretending we’re having this heteronormative, Hollywood version of sexual relationships.”